Two people dead, several rescued at senior living center and hospital from southeastern wildfires

An air tanker drops fire retardant called slurry over and around areas in the Village of Ruidoso, N.M., on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Photo by Chancey Bush / Albuquerque Journal) PHOTO CANNOT BE REPUBLISHED

Update: This story has been updated to reflect the latest reported death of an individual. As of 4:55 p.m. on June 19, two people have died as a result of the fires, according to New Mexico State Police.

Update: The maps in this story have been updated to reflect the latest acreage totals and perimeters released Wednesday morning. As of 5:59 p.m. on June 18, the South Fork Fire has grown to 16,335 acres (about 25.5 square miles), and the Salt Fire has grown to 7,071 acres (about 11 square miles).

Two large fires in southeastern New Mexico have damaged or destroyed 1,400 buildings and taken at least two people’s lives, according to the New Mexico governor’s office and New Mexico State Forestry.

The South Fork Fire and Salt Fire started on Monday, with the South Fork Fire discovered around 9 a.m. and the Salt Fire around 2 p.m. They originated in or near the Mescalero Apache Reservation and are threatening homes and lives in Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs and areas nearby.

As of Tuesday evening, the fires totaled more than 20,000 acres and were 0% contained, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.

“These are very serious fires,” the governor told reporters at a news conference in Santa Fe.

Shortly after the news conference, a spokesperson for the governor’s office said one person has died as a result of the fire. They said the information came from “official channels” but could not provide any more information.

Lujan Grisham said authorities have been contacted by people who are looking for their family members. She encouraged people searching for lost loved ones to call the 24/7 hotline at (833) NMFIRE6 or (833) 663-4736.

“We do want to hear from you, we do want to support you,” she said. “We send the (National) Guard or the police to make those contacts.”

Lujan Grisham could not say how many people are missing, trapped, stuck or otherwise unable to leave along the established evacuation routes. She said she was personally aware of two people who needed to be located.

“If you believe that you’ve got a loved one that is in jeopardy, we want to know about it,” Lujan Grisham said. “We want to do everything we can to locate them.”

According to a spokesperson for state Forestry, 1,400 structures were "lost" as of Tuesday evening.

“We don’t want people informally in those areas, trying to garner information out of context, and putting their own lives at risk,” Lujan Grisham said. “When you do that, you potentially put other lives at risk.”

Five-thousand people have fled from Ruidoso on Monday evening, with many staying with friends and family, Lujan Grisham said.

More than 500 people are staying in 10 different shelters and service centers mostly in Roswell, along with the Inn of the Mountain Gods, Lujan Grisham said.

Crews also rescued seven patients from the Lincoln County Medical Center, she said.

Another 15 people living at the Good Life Senior Living and Memory Care Ruidoso were taken to the Ruidoso Convention Center, according to a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Health. A dozen of them were picked up by family, and staff accompanied the remaining three who were evacuated to Artesia, the spokesperson said.

Then on Tuesday, the city of Ruidoso Downs was ordered to evacuate.

“The men and women who put their lives on the line including State Police, firefighters, the Guard’s men and women and their families, are doing amazing work,” Lujan Grisham said. “And the number of New Mexicans who — on their own — are helping with livestock and resources and are offering up their own homes for shelter, shows me once again, the generosity and the compassion of the people in this state.”

Lujan Grisham said she is expecting requests for federal emergency disaster declarations to be delivered to the federal government within the next 24 hours. That will allow federal disaster relief resources, potentially including housing, individual aid and support for local governments into New Mexico.

‘Extreme fire behavior,’ state forester says

State Forester Laura McCarthy said the fire is dangerous and moving fast.

“The fire behavior that we saw yesterday and that is picking up now this afternoon is extreme fire behavior,” McCarthy said.

On Tuesday afternoon, both fires were marching steadily to the east, but around 2 p.m. fire perimeters maps produced by the National Interagency Fire Center show a slight shift toward the west.

The weather has allowed pilots to work with bulldozers and hotshot crews on the ground to build fire lines, and find and put out any spot fires from blown embers before they take hold, McCarthy said.

She said winds and other conditions have not reached “Red Flag” level, which means elevated risk of fire due to low humidity, dry conditions and high winds. But they are close.

She said the local weather is dynamic, with winds shifting from the southwest to the west because of a cold front that will bring moisture either on Wednesday or Thursday. Any rainfall could change the fire’s behavior, McCarthy said.

Eight hundred people from 17 different federal and state agencies are responding to the fire, Lujan Grisham said, along with 13 wildfire hotshot crews and several other specialist fire teams.

The causes of both fires are still to be determined, the governor said. 

Investigators haven’t ruled out whether the blazes stemmed from natural or human causes, she said, noting that there were reports of lightning. Any number of causes are possible, she said, including human activity.

She cautioned the public against speculating about the cause and instead focus on how to help those affected while the investigation proceeds. Six investigators, overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, are on the case, McCarthy said.

Don’t drink the water, NMED says

After 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the New Mexico Environment Department issued a “precautionary” water advisory for nine water systems in Lincoln County serving more than 24,000 people, “due to possible contamination related to the wildfire impacts.”

Environment officials are telling the public to seek other sources of drinking water until the advisory is lifted. The water can still be used for non-drinking purposes like washing clothes and dishes, NMED said.

Travel in and around the southeastern part of the state is not allowable with road closures, and is discouraged where roads are open, Lujan Grisham said.

Cell service was not readily available for most communities in Lincoln County on Monday night, Lujan Grisham said, but “most” cellular service has been restored.

“That can change. We’re working to make sure we never lose emergency communications,” Lujan Grisham said.

There was a loss of power in the area, though PNM had restored it to “most” homes, Lujan Grisham said. However, some parts of the Mescalero Apache Nation were still without power, she said.

How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke

People in Ruidoso and in the areas surrounding the South Fork fire can reduce their exposure to wildfire smoke and the tiny particles in it by staying indoors, said Srikanth Paladugu the Environmental Health Epidemiology Bureau chief for New Mexico’s Department of Health.

Instead, Paladugu recommends creating a “clean room” in your house. The EPA’s guidance for creating a clean room involves closing all windows and doors in one room and placing an air purifier with a HEPA filter in the room.

DOH does not hand out HEPA filters, Paladugu said.

DOH recommends not using an evaporative cooler if there is smoke coming into your home, he said.

A high-quality, well-fitting respirator, such as an N95, “will always help” in situations where smoke is coming into someone’s home, or if someone must complete an essential task outdoors, Paladugu said.

For people outside the fire’s immediate area, Paladugu said people should use the 5-3-1 visibility method to determine what precautions to take to reduce exposure, depending on how far you can see landmarks in the distance.

Where to donate money and supplies

The governor and other officials are encouraging people to donate to the Greatest Needs Impact Fund for Lincoln & Otero, run by the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico.

Anyone can drop off donations of supplies to the National Guard Armory in Roswell at 1 E Earl Cummings Loop, said Adjutant General and acting Homeland Security and Emergency Management secretary Miguel Aguilar.

“We didn’t want to overwhelm all the shelters with various types of drop-offs, as they’re trying to take care of our evacuees,” Aguilar said. “If you take your donations to National Guard Armory, we will distribute them to those shelters as they’re needed.”

Resources

The 24/7 hotline to call is (833) NMFIRE6 or (833) 663-4736.

For information about the fire, go to dhsem.nm.gov.

To get help with an insurance claim, call the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance at 1 (833) 485-1336.

Source New Mexico reporter Patrick Lohmann contributed to this report. 

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